Elite Shotguns of HK: Benelli vs Fabarm HK has long been on the cutting edge of small arms in the western world and their marketing partnership choices in shotguns often reflect thoughtful innovation along with the use of proven technologies. For most of the last thirty years, HK has partnered with the Italian firm Benelli to market that company’s combat and hunting shotguns.   Both respected names in the gun business profited from this partnership which only recently dissolved with Benelli …

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Armalite AR180B Armalite, formerly Eagle Arms and formerly before that Essential Arms has been a company in transition from an AR15 clone parts maker, to gun maker to finally purchasing the right to the Armalite name and reviving what had been one of the more interesting product offerings from the defunct division of an aerospace company. The original AR180 was designed as a lower cost and improved alternative to the M16 rifle in service in the late 1960s.  By the …

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FN 5.7 Pistol Steeped in controversy over its release to the public, the innovative FN 5.7 (pronounced Five-Seven) is aptly named for its unique cartridge.   This numeric naming system reminds me of the way SAAB changed the names of their cars in the late 1990s.   Like the SAAB 9-3 Viggen is to sports cars,  the 5.7 pistol is an item of entirely European concept and design that departs from the ordinary. The 5.7 pistol is not anything like any pistol previously …

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Saiga Rifles Another economy import from EAA (European American Armory), the Siaga rifles represent what is probably the best bargain in AK derivatives currently on the US market. Engineered to comply with Clinton era restrictions placed on the Russian Federation with even fewer “evil” features than other imports as a condition of securing loans, the Saiga rifle is a highly modified derivative of the AKM rifle.   Unlike other AK derivatives where they were primarily military rifles slightly modified to comply …

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Both Poly Technologies and the infamous Norinco of China had offered reverse engineered M14 type rifles on the US commercial market in the 1980s, and some Chinese M14 type rifles are still offered on the Canadian market through importers, most notably Marstar international.   There were a number of US import M14s from China in varying levels of fit and quality, ranging from pretty decent to downright miserable.   None were known to deliver match grade accuracy, but the chrome lined bores, …

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The FAL The FAL was probably the second most common rifle in the world during the Cold war, and like the AK pattern rifles, has enjoyed a relatively recent popularity with the shooting community in the US.   Almost all FALs currently on the market are in 7.62X51 NATO caliber and feed from a 20 round box magazine.   Nearly all are semi-automatic, with a small number being select fire.   Select fire is not even common on the military rifles since the …

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The HK UMP submachinegun is a low cost weapon sold by HK on the world market as a general purpose law enforcement and security weapon.   While not readily available for domestic sales to the general public in the US, these guns are likely to become more common on the world market in addition to the likely re-release of a semi-auto version originally billed as the HK USC.   The primary differences between the USC and UMP being that the UMP has …

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The Kimber CDP (Custom Defensive Pistol) has been heralded as one of the best factory 1911 type pistols ever to be put on the market.   Specifically engineered for concealed carry and as a general purpose self defense pistol, the CDP sports many standard features once found only on custom guns.  In fact, the CDP had started out as a limited offering from Kimber of America as a semi-custom gun for the well heeled 1911 enthusiast looking for the ultimate in …

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The P22 is one of the most recent offerings from Walther in an attempt to grab a piece of the growing market in cost effective target and survival pistols.   Prior to the current release of the P22, Walther had made a fairly limited number of purpose designed .22 pistols, but they did have special editions of their PP series guns chambered in .22 LR.  These guns have been favored by people who live in places where it can be difficult …

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Probably the most popular AK variants in the US these days are coming from Romania.   While there are around a half dozen variants, the most popular models are the SAR 1, SAR 2, SAR 3 and WASR-10.   Available calibers are 7.62X39, 5.45X39, and 5.56 NATO.   The 7.62X39 models being by far the most popular as compatible ammunition and magazines are plentiful and cheap. Having traded out a number of my AKs a while back, I decided to restock the ol …

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